Gold prices today: Spot rates jump 1.4% as geopolitical tensions rise after US strike on Venezuela

The spot price surged to its peak performance at Rs $4,546 on December 26, 2025.

• Gold prices rose 1.4% globally after US military action against Venezuela.
• Domestic gold futures on MCX opened higher at Rs 1,37,795 per 10 grams
• Analysts predict strong gold prices due to geopolitical tensions and rate cut expectations.

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Gold prices climbed sharply in international markets on January 5 as investors flocked to the safe-haven metal following the US’s large-scale military action against Venezuela on January 3, betting on further upside amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The spot price of the precious yellow metal, which is bought and sold for immediate delivery, stood just above $4,391 an ounce as of 7:42 a.m. IST, representing a gain of 1.40 percent from its previous close and 3.68 percent in the past week. The spot price surged to its peak performance at Rs $4,546 on December 26, 2025.

The domestic futures price of gold on MCX opened the Monday session at Rs 1,37,795 per 10 grams of 24-Carat purity, which is 1.19 percent up from its previous close at Rs 1,35,761. Trading in futures involves standardized contracts to buy and sell the precious metal at a predetermined price. The gold futures price peaked on MCX at Rs 1,40,465 as recorded on December 26.

Meanwhile, the rupee stood at 90.016 against the U.S. dollar on Monday, representing a gain of 0.02 percent in a day and 0.13 percent in a week.

Gold prices vary by purity. Check out below to see the prices of gold based on its purity

Source: Goodreturns

City-wise gold prices in India today

Gold rates across India’s major cities showed remarkable uniformity, with only marginal differences due to local taxes, jeweller margins, and logistics costs.

Source: Goodreturns

Why is gold price up?

The Augmont Bullion gold outlook report published on January 2, 2026, noted that precious metals began the New Year with gold climbing 1 percent, and silver rising 3 percent, extending their surge after huge gains in 2025, as geopolitical worries and optimism for lower interest rates this year kept safe-haven demand strong.

The report acknowledged that while uncertainty can take many forms, chronic worry surrounding tariffs, geopolitics, conflict, politics, government shutdowns, legislation, and so on has left investors feeling underexposed to gold. When combined with gold's good price performance and lower correlations, we believe it is now more widely acknowledged as a strategic component of portfolios.

"The 60-20-20 allocation scheme has gained popularity and attention in the financial media. If the theory achieves popular acceptance, gold may reach new highs. With most portfolios' average gold allocation under 5 percent, investors would need to buy a lot more yellow metal to increase their gold holdings to 20 percent. This reflects gold's increased standing as a basic portfolio diversifier rather than a crisis hedge of last resort. Therefore, it seems gold and silver are not in a bubble, but it's the beginning of a paradigm shift," the report stated.

Read more: Why gold may remain a reliable wealth builder in 2026: 5 trends to watch

Outlook: Will gold continue its momentum this week?

Analysts predict that the prices of precious metals are expected to appreciate in the aftermath of the large-scale military action carried out by the US against Venezuela on December 3.

Furthermore, persistent geopolitical instability, hopes of reduced US borrowing costs, continued central bank purchases, and increased inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds have all contributed to the rally.